Andy Ruiz Jr Defeats Chris Arreola Via Points Decision

Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr overcame a second round knockdown to secure a unanimous decision win, over fellow American Mexican Charis Arreola on Saturday night in California.

Andy Ruiz Jr looked much leaner in comparison to his previous appearances in the ring and reportedly lost two stone in weight. His last fight was his rematch with Anthony Joshua in December 2019 where he lost the WBA, IBF and WBO world titles he won against Joshua in New York, June 2019.

Ruiz Jr (34-2, 22 ko’s) was forced to pick himself off the canvas in the second round after the big punching Arreola (38-7-1, 33 ko’s) landed a overhand right to his temple. Ruiz Jr recovered and was able to dominate the fight therwafter to win on the judges scorecards, which were: 117-110, 118-109, 118-109 all in favour of Ruiz.

In the post-fight interview, Ruiz said – ‘Chris is a veteran and a hard pincher, we did what we had to do tonight. We got the victory that we wanted. I was at my lowest point and now I have to climb the ladder again. I’m thankful for the victory and I’m ready to move on to the next’

Speaking on the knockdown: ‘He got me with a good clean right hand in the second round. I was too over-confident and dropped my hand a bit – hats off to him’

Whilst he didn’t claim to win the fight, Arreola wasn’t best pleased with the judge’s scorecards: “Did he win? Fine. But don’t tell me you’re only going to give me two or three rounds,” he said. “Fuck that! I’m gonna be like Dr. Dre, all y’all can suck my motherfuckin’ d***!”